Reaper of Death: The newest dinosaur emerges
Giving more details on a new dinosaur species
I promise I didn’t spoil anything for the new Jurassic World film.
Reported by USA Today and National Geographic, a new species related to the Tyrannosaurus Rex has been discovered in Canada, the first in roughly 50 years. Known officially as Thanatotheristes, the name is actually Greek for “reaper of death”, according to USA Today. Very subtle.
Approximately 26-30 feet long, the new species predates its famous relative by roughly 2.5 million years. The distinct features that gave the scientist group, led by Jared Voris, the realization that this was no mere T-rex were unique features of fossil skull fragments.
As quoted by Voris: “Thanatotheristes can be distinguished from all other tyrannosaurs by numerous characteristics of the skull, but the most prominent are vertical ridges that run the length of the upper jaw.”
The image below from Voris shows the fragments he had to work with:
New dinosaur discoveries don’t always break top news stories, but there’s significance in terms of research and understanding the timeline of these prehistoric beasts. Despite the field of paleontology being a tad outdated, it’s still important in terms of the development of our ancient world.
Here’s a simplified version as to why this new species is relevant:
- T-Rexes were apex predators
- Before they became top dog, they were not that powerful (some were 5 feet tall…)
- Stayed in the shadows while things like allosauroids and megalosaurids dominated
- When they all died 80 million years ago, T-rexes evolved and grew huge
- Reapers (the dino discussed above) were a sub-group of the T-rex, aka a different way these species evolved
- To conclude, this new species helps to understand the evolution of the T-rex
I wrap up with a concept art piece that shows what these “reapers” may have looked like. I’m not saying I’m scared, but expect a jump from me if this thing pops up with Chris Pratt and Jeff Goldblum!
Don’t you love when writers tie their stuff back to the first line, to a joke that wasn’t even that funny? Me too :)
